Succulent Fish & Seafood

This fish hash recipe was one of those accidentally-discovered dishes when one of the ingredients doesn’t turn out quite right, but with a plan B, the dish turns into something quite amazing. I love accidentally discovering great recipes that turn into signature dishes and sharing them with you. What I love about this fish hash recipe is that it’s quick, easy, delicious, satisfying, and packed with flavor. It is also sugar-free, dairy-free, lectin-free, low-carb, Keto, and Paleo!

What’s very convenient about a flaky white fish, such as wild-caught cod, is you can buy it frozen, then bake it without thawing. You may, of course, thaw your fish first or buy fresh fillets. This recipe works well in all of those scenarios. For us busy foodies, we often stock up on frozen cod fillets for easy, longer-term storage, then pop them in the oven last minute to make a quick dinner.

In the past, we would just sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper, top it with butter or drizzle with olive oil once it was cooked, squeeze lemon juice over it, and serve with a salad or veggies. Simple enough. Then Joel started complaining.

He likes variety more than I do, so his complaint was that eating fish this way got “too boring.” Then one evening, I felt like having fish and decided to bake the frozen cod fillets. I had Joel’s complaint in the back of my mind as I was preparing the dinner. Then a funny (and serendipitous) thing happened — the fish got too flaky. It was literally falling apart on the baking sheet. I may have forgotten to grease the baking sheet. Oops.

Hmm, what do I do now? Plan B! We were on a fried-onions-in-butter kick, so I had the idea to sauté some onions, fry a couple slices of bacon, and mix the fish in to make it into a fish hash! I love hash, so why not with fish? A simple Romaine lettuce salad on the side. Boom! Easy dinner. Plus, Joel gets to eat his fish in a new way.

The smokiness and crunchiness of bacon, the sweetness of cooked onions, the delicateness of the fish…this is probably my favorite way to eat cod or tilapia. Top the fish hash leftovers with an egg the next morning, and it’s breakfast! We now make this fish hash recipe quite often. Enjoy!

Directions

Grease a rimmed baking sheet with avocado oil or grass-fed butter. Season the fish with salt on both sides and place on the baking sheet.

If using fresh fish fillets, pre-heat the oven to 400° F. Depending on the thickness of the fillets, bake for 9-12 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork, and the center is no longer translucent.

If using frozen or thawed fish fillets, bake according to the instructions on the package and until the fish flakes easily, and the center is no longer translucent.

While the fish is baking, fry the bacon slices in a large sauté or cast iron pan over medium heat until crispy or to desired doneness. Remove the bacon and allow to cool.

Cook the chopped onion in the bacon fat until golden-brown, stirring occasionally, about 7-10 minutes, adding more cooking fat, if needed. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and mix well. Remove from heat if done before the fish.

Cut the cooled slices of bacon into small pieces.

Once the fish is baked, break it into bite-sized pieces with a fork and add to the onion in the pan. Add the chopped bacon, mix well, and allow everything to heat through.

Adjust the seasonings as desired. Sprinkle with minced parsley, if desired, and serve warm.

When you use the fish hash leftovers for breakfast, it’s very similar in texture to a typical hash loaded with potatoes, but without all of the carbs!

TIP:What helps to make this fish hash recipe even quicker is cooking things in parallel — frying the bacon while the oven is heating, cooking the onions while the fish is baking — you get the point. I also like to use a broiler pan instead of a rimmed baking sheet when baking frozen fish to allow the juices to drip into the bottom tray.

VARIATION:Feel free to omit the bacon, but it gives this dish a very nice, smoky flavor and crunchy consistency.

My buttered seafood shirataki noodles recipe has got to be the fastest homemade low-carb dinner you can make on a busy weeknight. You can even make it for lunch if you work from home or happen to spend your lunchtime at home.

This recipe is grain-free, gluten-free, lectin-free, sugar-free, Keto, Paleo, and can be dairy-free if you use avocado oil instead of butter. In other words, it’s guilt-free!

In my pre-Paleo and pre-Keto days, I actually owned a cookbook titled I Could Eat Pasta Every Night. It’s too funny to think about it now. Yes, I was a self-described “carb junkie” (read my story). Yes, pasta was my favorite meal. In fact, Seafood Fettuccini Alfredo was probably my favorite dish. I didn’t eat it very often because it was known as a “heart attack on a plate,” but boy, did I love it.

Creamy, fatty, saucy carbs! I know now that creamy and fatty is completely fine, but not carby, especially when combined with fatty. 🙂 I donated that cookbook years ago because I didn’t know that shirataki noodles existed. Now I think I should have kept it and used it to modify those pasta recipes to be low-carb!

I first found out about shirataki noodles from my sister. She and my brother-in-law love Japan and have visited it quite often. Shirataki are translucent Japanese noodles made from the konjac tuber plant native to eastern Asia. The konjac tuber has almost no calories and almost no carbohydrates, but is very high in fiber. No wonder they call shirataki noodles “miracle noodles!” There is even a brand called Miracle Noodle®. You can find these noodles at natural food stores, Asian grocery stores, and online.

Plus, all you have to do with shirataki noodles is rinse them, warm them up, and dry in a pan, or skip drying in a pan if you’re in a hurry. It only takes minutes!

Now I can have my “pasta” and eat it, too! Buttery seafood noodles on a rainy or snowy night are especially satisfying to me. Make this Mediterranean-inspired dish fancier by garnishing with flat-leaf Italian parsley, sprinkling with fresh or dried chives, or topping with goat cheese crumbles, if you’re not dairy-sensitive.

To make this a quick and easy dish, I use canned, smoked seafood. My favorite is smoked baby clams in olive oil, but you can also make it with smoked oysters in olive oil.

Directions

Prepare shirataki noodles according to package instructions: Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, rinse the noodles in cool water for 15 seconds. Place the noodles in the boiling water for 2 minutes. Dry the noodles in a non-oiled pan over medium heat stirring occasionally until the water evaporates.

Remove noodles from the pan and place in a bowl.

Melt butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat.

Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.

Add baby greens and sauté for 1 minute stirring occasionally.

Add noodles, salt, and white pepper. Sauté for about 1 minute stirring occasionally or until the noodles are warmed through.

Add smoked baby clams. Gently toss everything together.

Garnish with flat-leaf Italian parsley or chives, if desired.

Serve immediately.

TIP:To make this seafood shirataki noodles recipe even faster, skip drying the noodles in a non-oiled pan (as described in step 1 and 2 above). Your dish will be a bit more soupy and saucy, if you prefer it that way.

VARIATIONS:This dish also goes well with smoked oysters in olive oil instead of baby clams. I use Crown Prince Natural brand because it’s the only brand I was able to find that uses olive oil instead of highly-inflammatory industrial “vegetable” oils. Not a big fan of smoked seafood? You may also use canned baby clams or precooked shrimp. Not in a hurry? Cook up some fresh seafood to serve with the noodles!